Attorney Pleads Guilty to Stealing From Clients

ABILENE, TX – Former Abilene attorney, Burt Lee Burnett, 52, pled guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the settlements of former clients.

According to KTXS, Burnett admitted in court that he was guilty of the second-degree felony charges he faced. 

Former clients of Burnett accused him of not helping them and keeping part of their settlement in several personal injury cases. 

One of the defendants was Nancy Edwards, whose family had been rear-ended by an 18-wheeler. Edwards claims that even though Burnett had won them a $1 million settlement, they only received $90,000 of the $507,000 there were supposed to get after lawyer’s fees. Court documents allege that Burnett stole over $575,000 from several clients.

"It just makes me so sad I can't hardly stand, he stole our money," Edwards said.

In 2017, the Texas Bar Association suspended Burnett’s license to practice law. Burnett later relinquished his license to practice law instead of facing the possibility of being disbarred.

In 2018, Burnett claimed that he was not responsible for the thefts and attempted to blame another employee at his law firm.

Burnett was prosecuted by the State of Texas Attorney General's Office because the Taylor County District Attorney's Office had to recuse themselves from the case. One of the employees in the District Attorney's office had a family member that had been represented by Burnett in a personal injury case. A judge Comanche County presided over the case.

Burnett’s sentencing is scheduled in February of 2020.